Adjustable dies for uniting materials



Nov. 5, 1957 l. A. wlLLlAMs ADJUSTABLE DIEs FOR UNITING MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9, 1953 rwwrfw .H bmw m f. R mb Om l n. W, w n x fw W ....H...,.,...., MY n B n TJ Q* QN. x 1 NN mm om" om VM, u d mm 2-11--- Nm WN q .u 1 Qh 7/ w .VM Q 43 Ng om m6 Nov. 5, 1957 u. A. wlLLIAMs ADJUSTABLE DIEs FOR UNITING MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1953 INVENTOR.

Ivan I'VilliamS States Patent- ?Ofce asnsol Patienten Nov. e, rear ADJUSTABLE DIES FOR UNITING MATERIALS Ivan A. Williams, Portland, Greg.

Application October 9, 1953, Serial No. 385,055

Claims. (Cl. 78-1) This invention relates to adjustable dies for uniting materials and particularly pertains to adjustable dies for use in uniting overlapped portions of metal sheets by lforming an integral fastener therethrough.

' The presently described dies are improved forms of the dies disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent 2,254,558, issued December 2, 1941, for Fastening Element and Method of Making the Same, and in my U. S. Letters 'Patent 2,28S,308, issued June 30, 1942, for Punch and Die.

These dies, like those disclosed in the aforesaid Let- :ters Patent, are designed for use together with a punch in uniting overlying pieces of material. In use, the punch fand die operate to form spaced incisions entirely through both thicknessesof the material. Next the sections of *the material between the incisions are deforrned in the direction of motion of the advancing punch until substantial portions lie beyond the plane of that surface of the material which is adjacent the die. This deformation is accompanied by bending and stretching of portions of the' material at the end zones between the spaced incisions ina pattern. conforming to the shape of the punch.

, The central sections of the deformed portions then are pressed againstthe anvil of the .die by the punch with the result that they are extruded laterally. In this manner there are formed laterally extending keys which span :the incisions and engage the undisplaced material on each side thereof, preventing retraction of the deformed material throughl the opening between the incisions. As a result, the peces of material are locked together securely. 4

In the foregoing procedure for forming integral fas- 'teners, the presently described dies have one or more of several important advantages, as follows:

First, they are easily adjustable to accommodate overlapped sheets ofmaterial having a wide range of thicknesses.

Second, notonly are they adjustable to accommodate sheets of varying thickness, but the required degree of adjustment may be gauged. quickly and accurately. i Third,. the cutting or the anvil members of the dies *are readily/.removable4 This is important in replacing a worn or broken part, or in substituting cutting or anvil members of different dimensions. L

Fourth, in view of the foregoing, each die has a remarkably long service life and may be used in lieu of a plurality of dies of different sizes.

Fifth, the dies release the' work readily after each 'fastener-forming operation.

These novel dies are described below in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, 'of one of the presently described dies illustrated in conjunction with a punch with which it cooperates in uniting overlying sheets of material;

Figure 2 is a view .in front elevation of the die of Figure 1; k t

Figure 3 is a plan view of the die of FigureisI 1 and' 2;

Figures-4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, a side elevation, a front elevation, and a plan view, Figure 4 being partly in section, illustratng one of the presently described dies wherein the anvil is removable;

Figures 7, 8 and 9 are, respectively, a side elevation (partly in section), a front elevation (partly in section), and a plan view of one of the presently described dies wherein the anvil is removable and also is adjustable to selected elevations with respect to the cutting members of the die; and

Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 are, respectively, a view in side elevation (partly in section), a view in front elevation (partly in section), a plan view and a sectonal view vtaken along the lines 13-13 of Figure 10 illustratng one of the dies of the present invention wherein the anvil not only is removable, but is spring pressed for stripping the work from the die at the conclusion of the fasteuerforming operation.

vThe die illustrated in Figures 1-3 comprises a body 20 having on one of its ends a pair of shoulders 22, 24 and a pair of recesses 26, 28 opening out to the exterior adjacent the shoulders. An anvil 30 projects outwardly from the die between the shoulders.

Although the anvil may assume various configurations land have various dimensions, it is provided with a work surface 32and a pair of opposite side faces 34 and 36. .Cutters 38, 40 overlie side faces 34, 36. They are formed with outer or cutting edges 42, 44 adapted to cooperate with a punch in penetrating the work. Also, they are ldimensioned to project beyond work surface 32 of the 1anvil by a degree which determines the thickness of the work which can be accommodated by the die.

- R'eslient securing-means are provided for securing the Acutters to the body of the die and for maintaining them resiliently against side faces 34, 36 of the anvil. In the illustrated-form, the resilient means comprise the arcuate, outwardly bowed resilient tongues 46, 48 dimensioned to enter recesses 26, 28 respectively, and to engage frictionally the side Walls thereof. Tongues 46, 48 preferably extend to the central region of the cutters, as by cutting away portions of the latter to form recesses 50, x52 defining the base portion of the tongues. The plane of the cutters thus is at an angle to the plane of the .tongues at their points of connection to the cutters with the result that the cutters may be placed against the side faces of the anvil with their inner edges abutting shoulders 22, 24 for absorbing the thrust of the punching operation.

The punch which cooperates with the die described above in forming fasteners through overlying pieces of material 54, 56 comprises a body portion 58 and a punch portion 60. The latter is dimensioned to conform to the dimensions of .the die. Adjacent its punching or work surface 62 it has on opposite edges angular forming sections, one' of which is indicated at 64. In Operating the punch of Figures 1-3, overlying sheets of material 54, 56-are placed between the punch and the die. The punch then is advanced, whereupon, cooperating with cutters 38, 40 of the die, it cuts spaced incisions entirely through both thicknesses of the material. Furthermore, the sections 66, 68 of the material between the incisions are deformed in the direction of motion of the advancing punch until they lie beyond the plane :of that surface of the material which is adjacent the die. This displacement is accompanied by bending and stretching portions of the material at the end zones in a pattern conforming to the shape of the forming sections 64 of the punch.

Upon each stroke of the punch, the swaged sections 66, 68 Spread the cutters 38, 40. This is made possible by the resiliency of the cutters imparted by the resilient 2,s11,sso

tongues 46, 48 to which they are connected. The thrust of the punching operation is absorbed by shoulders 22, 24 of the die body against which the cutters abut. At the conclusion of the cutting operation the work is withdrawn from between the cutters, whereupon the latter snap back against side faces 34, 36 of the anvil ready for another stroke of the punch.

Should the cutting members becomeworn or broken during use, they may. readily be replaced by Withdrawing them from recesses 26, 28, and inserting a new pair of cutters. This also lmay be done where it is desired to operate upon materialof a different gauge. In this case the'dirnensions'of the cutters'are selected to provide a distance between their cutting edges 472, 44,.and the worksurface 32 of the anvil such .as to be suited for the 'particular gangsof the material cqrltemplated- The vernbodirnent illustrated in IFigures 4-6 is similar to the foregong with the .cxceptionthat a removable anvil i.S rimvidd- This S useful to rensat! 4 Wern Of brgken anvil. .as well as to provide-an altsrnate VWay of adapting the diefor use with Ysheet material of yarying thickness. This may be accomplishedby seleeting an .anvil having a bright as Qomprti With. the heiglf Qflf the cutters which is suited for the sheet rnaterial"toV which it is to be applied.

ArcOfiiIiglY-the die Isf .this emlzotiiissat .ssmrrises a body '80, one end of which is provided with a pair of spaced apart shoulders 82,, 84- This'end of the'die body also, has. a 'pairof spaced' apart, recesses' 8,,8.8..1ying outside of the shoulders, and a central longitudinal bore 90, An anvil 92 is connected to the body of thevdie by means of a shank 94, dmensioned to be friciioilally received by longitudinal bore 90 of the die body. It has a work surface 98 anda pair of opposite flat side faces 100, V102. To rnpart suicient strength and stabilty to it, the anvil. preferably is of substantial length and is contained in part in a slot 96 in the' upper surface of the die body which communicates with longitudinal bore 90.

Positionedl against the side faces 100, 102, respectively, of the anvil. are cutting elements 104,106. These may be constructed similarly to cutters 38, 40 of the embodiment of Figures 1-3. Their inner ends abut against shoulders 82, 84 of the die body. Their outer ends on which are the cutting surfaces 10,8, 110vextend a spaced distance beyond the work surface 98 of the anvil,- this distance. being predetermined to accommodatethe particular thickness of the material Which is to be the subject matter of the fastening operation. V I

Means are provided forV maintaining cutters 104,: 106 resiliently pressing against the side faces of the anvil and for releasably securing them to .the die body. As .in the embodiment of Figures 1-3, a preferred means of accomplishing these functions colmprises attaching the cutters to resilient tongues 112, 114. The latter preferably are formed integrally with the cutters by recessing the latter at 116, 118 and forming the materialdefined in part by the recessesinto outwardly bowed tongues in the manner indicated. This, in effect accomplishes attching the tongues to the central portion of the cutters, which in turn makes possible abutting the inner edges of the cutters against shoulders 82, 84 of the dieI body while contemporaneouslyV providing Van arcuate springy member which maybe nserted into recesses 876, 88, frictionally engaging the side walls of'the same and securing thel cutte'l'vsitofthe body of the die while maintaining them Ipressing yieldahly against the sidev faces of .the anvil.

The operation of the die ofl Figures 4-6V is similar -to that of the die of Figures 1-3, described ab'oye'.v vHowever, in this case 'notonlyy are the cutters readily replaceable andrenewable, but the anvil is Ialso. In this-nianner, a new anvil may be applied as desirable or necessary to replace worn or broken parts, or to adjust thewSP Jig between the work surface ofV the anvil and thec edgesl of the cutters as required for material of a partiuiar gauge.

The die illustrated in Figures 7-9 is similar to the constructions described above, particularly that illustrated in Figures 4-6. However, in this embodiment the elevation of the anvil with respect to the cutting surfaces of the cutters is adjustable so that a single die may be employed to fasten together overlying sheets having a range of thicknesses.

Accordingly the die of Figures 7-9 has a body 130, the outer end of which has a pair of shoulders 132, 134, a pair of recesses 136, 138 lying outside the shoulders, and a central slot 140 lying between shoulders. Slot 140 communicates with a longitudinal hole 142, the inner end 144 of which is enlarged and threaded. A scale 145 is placed along a lower longitudinal edge of slot 140.

An anvil 146 is contained within the slot and projects outwardly therefrom. It has a work surface 148 and a pair of opposite side faces 150, 152. Being mounted in slot 140, it is stabilized and prevented from rotating. Being slidably received therein, the extent of its projection from the body of the die may be controlled. To this end it is affixed to a shank 154 which is slidable in hole 142 of the die body, and extends into the threaded enlarged section 144 at theinner end thereof. There it abuts a screw plug 156. Hence longitudinal adjustrnent of the anvil may be secured by screwing the plug in or out.

A pair of cutters 160, 162 are maintained resiliently against side faces 150, 152 respectively, of the anvil. These have cutting edges 164, 166 and their inner edges abut shoulders 132, 134. They may-be maintained yieldably against the side faces of the anvil'and releasably secured to the die body by means of spring tongues 168, 170 such as have been described above. Thus the cutters may be recessed at 172, 174, the material defined in part by the recess connecting to integrally formed, outwardly bowed spring tongues which are dimensioned to be received by recesses 136, 138. Tongues 168, 170 being dirnensioned for f rictional engagement with the sidewalls of recesses 136, 13,8, secure thev cutters 160, 162'in operative position against 'the anvil.

The operation of the die of Figures 7-.9 is similar to that of the die of Figures 1-3 described above. However, in this case not onlyare the cutters removable, but the anvil likewise is removable or adjustable to a selected working position with reference to the cutting edges of the cutters. Thus by suitable adjustment of the screw. plug 15,6, the anvil may be raised or lowered to provide the desired working distance between anvil surface 148 and cutting edges 164, 166 of the cutters. If desired, the extent of this adjustment -may be measured on scale 145, thereby facilitating adjustment of the die4 to accommodate work of a particular gauge.

The embodiment of Figures 10-13 is similar to the dies described hereinbefore with the exception that means are provided for resiliently urging the anvil to an extended position. This strips the work from the die after each fastener is formed, accelerating the fastening sequence.v

Accordingly, in this embodiment the die comprises a body 180, the' outer end. of Which has spaced apart shoulders 182, 184; spaced apart recesses 186, 188 lying outside the vshoulders; and a central slot 190 lying between the shoulders. Slot 190 communicates with a central longitudinal hole 192 which in turn, opens out into an enlarged cavity 19,4, the outer section-of which is threaded.

An anvil 196 having a work surface 1498 and al pair of opposedside faces 200, 202 is Vslidably mounted in slot 190 and projects outwardly therefrorn. 'i Conneeted to the anvil is a shank 204 whichis slidably mounted in hole 192. A compression spring 206 engages the end of shank 204, and abutsa screw plug 208, threaded into the threaded section of the enlarged portion 194.of the hole, for adjusting .the degree of compression of the spring.

A pair of cutters 210, 212 having cutting surfaces 214, 2.16 are. resiliently mounted against side faces 200, 202 Vof the anvil. These are dimensioned to extend slightly bxaad. the working surface. 198 of. the, anvil and' re 2,s11,sso

releasably secured to the body of the die. Thus they are provided with integrally formed tongues 218, 220 defined in part, for example, by means of recesses 222, 224 extending to the central portion of the cutter. Tongues 218, 220 are bowed outwardly and dimensioned to be received by recesses 186, 188 in the die body, frictionally engaging the sidewalls thereof. Accordingly they provide means for yieldably mounting the'cutters against the side faces of the anvil with the cutting edges 214, 216 in operative position and the inner edges abutting against shoulders 182, 184 for absorbing the thrust of the punching operation.

It will be apparent that the operation of the die of Figures 10-13 is similar to that described above for the other embodiments of this invention. However, in addition the anvil of the die of Figures 10-13 is urged outwardly continuously by spring 206. Thus after compression of the spring after each stroke of the punch, it operates to extend the anvil. This in turn strips the work from the die and facilitates presentation of a new section of the overlapped sheets for fastening together.

Thus by the present invention I have provided a die for fastening together overlying pieces of material which in addition to forming an effective integral fastener therethrough is readily adjustable to accommodate sheets of varying thickness. In addition, the adjustment may be made accurately by means of an integral gauge carried by the die. Further, the dies are provided with cutters and anvils which may be readily renewed as desirable or necessary for replacing worn or broken parts or for adjusting the distance between the working surface of the anvil and the cutting edges of the cutters to accommodate sheets of various sizes. Still further, in one of its embodiments the die operates to strip the work from itself at the conclusion of each stroke of the punch, thereby accelerating the formation of a sequence of fasteners through the material.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The die comprising a body, an anvil extending outwardly from the body and having a work surface and a pair of opposed side faces; the body portion having spaced apart shoulders, a pair of recesses positioned one outside each of the shoulders, and a central slot positioned intermediate the shoulders and communicating with a longitudinal bore; a shank portion connected to the anvil, the anvil being seated in the slot and the shank portion thereof in the central bore of the die body, a pair of cutters positioned one against each of the anvil side faces and bearing at their inner ends against the shoulders of the die body, and spring means connected to the cutters and seated in the recesses for resiliently pressing the cutters against the side faces of the anvil and releasably securing them to the die body.

2. The die comprising a body, an anvil projecting outwardly from the body and having a work surface and a pair of opposed side faces, means for releasably attaching the anvil to the body, means connected to the anvil for adjusting its degree of outward projection, the body having shoulders adjacent the base of said opposed side faces of the anvil and recesses opening out outside the shoulders, a pair of cutters positioned one against each of the side faces and bearing at their inner ends against the shoulders, and spring means connected to the cutters and seated in the recesses for resiliently pressing the cutters against the side faces of the anvil and releasably securing them to the body of the die.

3. The die comprising a body, an anvil projecting outwardly from the body and having a work surface, a'pair of opposed side faces, and a shank; the body having shoul- 'ders' adjacent the said side faces of the anvil, recesses opening out outside of the shoulders, and intermediate the shoulders a slot communicating with a central longitudinal hole;'the anvil being slidably mounted in-a slot with its shank portion being slidably received in said central hole, a pair of cuttersrpositioned one against each of the said side faces of the anvil, spring means connected to the cutters and seated in the recesses for resiliently pressing the cutters against the side faces of the anvil and releasably securing them against the body of the die, and screw means threaded into the central hole and bearing against the shank portion of the anvil for adjustng the degree of outward projection of the same.

4. The die comprising a body, an anvil projecting outwardly from the body and having a work surface and a pair of opposed side faces, means connected to the anvil forv adjusting the degree of outward Projection of the same, gauge means operatively associated with the said body and the anvil for gauging the degree of projection of the anvil with respect to the body, a pair of cutters positioned one against each of the side faces, and spring means connected to the cutters and attached to the die body for resiliently pressing the cutters against the side faces of the anvil and releasably securing them to the body of the die.

5. The die comprising a body, an anvil extending outwardly from the body and having a Work surface and a pair of opposed side faces; the body having shoulders adjacent the base of the anvil, a slot intermediate the shoulders and a central hole communicating with the slot; the anvil being slidably received in the slot, and having a shank portion slidably received in the central hole, a pair of cutters positioned one against each of said side faces of the anvil and bearing at their inner ends against said shoulders and extending beyond the plane of the work surface thereof, resilient means interconnecting the cutters and the body of the die for resiliently mounting the cutters against the said side faces of the anvil and securing them to the body of the die, and a compression spring stationed Within the central hole and bearing against the anvil shank for urging the anvil a predetermined distance outwardly from the die body.

6. A die comprising a body, an anvil projecting from the outer end thereof, the anvil having an outer work surface and a pair of opposed side faces, the outer end of the body having shoulders extending laterally from the opposed side faces of the anvil, a pair of cutters positioned adjacent the opposed side faces of the anvil and bearing at their inner ends against said shoulders, and resilient securing means connected to the cutters for frictionally securing the cutters to the body and for resiliently pressing the cutters against the opposed side faces of the anvil.

7. A die comprising a body, an anvil projecting from the outer end thereof, the anvil having an outer work surface and a pair of opposed side faces, the outer end of the body having shoulders extending laterally from the opposed side faces of the anvil, a pair of cutters positioned adjacent the opposed side faces of the anvil and bearing at their inner ends against said shoulders, the body having recesses therein extending inwardly from the outer end of the body and positioned laterally outward from the cutters, and spring means connected to the cutters and frictionally seated releasably in the recesses for resiliently urging the cutters against the opposed side faces of the anvil.

8. A die comprising a body, an anvil projecting from the outer end thereof, the anvil having an outer Work surface and a pair of opposed side faces, the outer end of the body having shoulders extending laterally from the opposed side faces of the anvil, a pair of cutters positioned adjacent the opposed Side faces of the anvil and bearing at their inner ends against said shoulders, the body having recesses therein extending inwardly from the outer end of the body and positioned laterally outward from the cutters, and an arcuate, resilent tongue formed ntegrally 

